Tell me all GD dealers are not the same

[concreteman]

I didnt have a good experience with the dealer that I bought my unit from. So after the on going furnace problem and the watrer heater stopped working on electric, I found another dealer more convenient for me in Abilene Ks. I talked with the service manager and he said if I dropped it off on Saturday 3/21/15 they may even would be able to look at it that day and be finished with it early in the week. I told him I was heading to Oklahoma and could pick it up on Saturday the 25 , he said no problem. I didnt hear anything so I called right after lunch and they hadnt even looked at it yet !!! He told me that if they looked at it Saturday or Monday and had to order parts they would still be finishedin time for my pickup. Now there is no chance it will be finished by Saturday! I dont understand why someones word means NOTHING in this day and age. Does anyone else feel like they would be happy if they just did what they told you they would do ?

 

[Scott and Jan]

That applies to everything in life. The world would be a much better place if people would think before they speak, mean what they say, and do what they say they will do.

Not all dealers are that way, unfortunately it sounds like a lot of them are. We have a good dealer here locally that has always done what they promised. Need more like that, Grand Design needs to make sure their dealer network shares their belief in taking care of the customer.
Calling Grand Design and getting them involved has helped others get taken care of properly. At least it gives them feedback on dealers not living up to GD standards.

 

[franks1]

Scott,what dealer do you use in Ocala?Thanks

 

[concreteman]

I agree that GD should screen their dealers better. One of the things that sold me on GD was that the dealer told me that they were all hand picked. And I would get better service no matter where I happened to be. Im starting to think that its just Rv dealers in general not just GD . Just think about it a little and I think you will understand what Im talking about.

 

[Scott and Jan]

Franks1, tradewinds RV in Ocala. If your looking for sales see Frank. If your looking for service Tim's the man. Either way tell them Scott Platt sent you, they'll take good care of you. We have purchased both our rv's from them, six years apart. Service has always been great.

 

[roadkingfl]

I dealt with Frank and he is a top notch guy...And although I didn't buy from them this time I wouldn't have any hesitation in contacting them for the next one...I may give them a shot when it comes time to service.

 

[droidguru]

Quite honestly every RV service department I have ever been to has over promised. There is always something (be it an excuse or an actual problem) that prevents them from delivering.

This probably happens for a number of reasons the two I encounter most are:
1. They are generally swamped, there are too many RV's with problems and not enough techs to get the work done.
2. They have no clue, your tech says 3 days for this part before he/she even checks to see if the part is available. They call you back and tell you it is out of their control.

Either way they should refrain from making such promises until that have a definite date, but honestly I have heard customers hounding these guys (I was one of them when my first slide broke on a rig I just picked up) and it is probably easier for them to write checks they can't deliver rather than losing the business up front when they tell you it will be 10-12 weeks for a repair.......and you say thanks but no thanks!

Also something to remember a lot of these places have the same staff during the winter as they do during their spring/fall rushes. It is a business and they are trying to make money so that goes back to #1 above.

Just my two cents.

 

[Happy Kansan]

Concreteman I would be curious as to how your experience with Four Seasons ends up. We bought our GD from them and took it back for furnace service back in September. Since they were winterizing it, also, and since we had no upcoming camping plans until spring, we really weren't all that concerned about turnaround time for the repair. We periodically checked back and always got an answer that the part hadn't arrived yet (brand new furnace/not a lot of spare parts available yet) and when it does the fix would be quick. Like I said, we didn't really care because we had no upcoming plans. We got it back I think in December. Maybe late November. BTW, the furnace works perfectly now. I did wonder during those months it was with them how efficiently they would get the work done if we had a trip planned and needed it fixed ASAP. So, please keep me updated as to how this turns out and if you contacted Grand Design to get involved. In Four Season's defense regarding our situation, they really were backed up with repairs in September because of a big hailstorm that overloaded them with insurance claim repairs on RV's.

 

[WhittleBurner]

We bought ours from General Trailer in Mt Clemens MI. We have taken it back a few times for service. So far so good. Each times they have gotten it back to us within in a week or so. We have been dealing with Christina in service and she couldn't be nicer. Only once we were not completely satisfied with their work, (because they did not listen to us to call GD for the fix) but it was taken care of at last years rally. In late Jan we had dropped it off for some work just before heading to Florida. They called in less than 2 weeks to say it was ready for pickup. Not being home we weren't able to. They kept it on the lot for us for two more weeks at no charge even though on their service contracts it says there will be a storage fee for trailers that are not picked up.

 

[TNFLineage]

General Trailer in Brownstown, MI is also very good at servicing our camper. It's only been in a couple of times, once for the convection oven recall, and each time they were able to get us out within a reasonable time frame. Good people there, in the office and out in the bays.

 

[concreteman]

Happy Kansan,

They told me that they would look at the unit first thing on Monday the 23rd. When I called on Wendsday they hadnt looked at it yet. I thinh my call got them moving. On Thursday they called and told me they couldnt get the furnace to duplicate the problem I had described. You can imagine my frustration as I had told them it had done it EVERY time I had had it out with the exception of one day. I talked to them on Saturday morning this time to Greg I thinh he is the general manager , Rick the service manager was off . He said they couldnt get it to duplicate the problem, but give them till 2pm. He called about 1pm and said they just couldnt get it to duplicate the problem.
So we get in the truck and drive 80 miles out there to get it. They still had it in the shop when we arrived . Greg said " lets go fire that furnace up and I will show you." He went inside and turned on the furnace and we all stood out in the shop by the exaust listing to it and talking. About 5 minuetes passed and it starting doing the exact cycling problem that I have described about 2 dozen times now. So we left the unit and drove home out 4 hours of our time and $40 of diesel fuel.
I will be contacting GD first thing on Monday. Jerry Adams had all ready offered to send me a new furnace but the last time he talked to me he wanted to get a couple things checked on this furnace first. One of the reasons I purchased a GD product was they were supposed to have better customer service and their dealer network was "hand picked" and I would get better service no matter where I happened to be. Well it has been about 2 montha and not one single thing has been done.

 

[concreteman]

I also agree with Whittleburners above post about the dealer not contacting GD. When I dropped it off I told them I had been talking to the factory and that they had been looking at some furnace problems up there and they may want to touch base with them. I kinda got the feeling that the service manager only heard about half of what I told him the day I dropped it off. And I was the only customer in the service department at that time. Maybe the basketball game on the raidio was distracting him. Lol!

 

[JustinThyme]

I cant offer up any alternative dealers in your area but can tell you that like anything else, like automotive for example, that not all dealers are created equal. Service
depts are another story yet. Service seperates good dealers from not so good dealers. Many are known to push warranty work to the back burner when there are non warranty jobs to be done because even though they get paid to do the warranty work by the manufacturer the rate is negotiated and usually far less than their usual going rate. I even get this when I take my employer provided fleet vehicle in for an oil change as the rate is negotiated. I stay at the back of the line until those paying full price are taken care of.

My dealer will even come to the seasonal site and service it there when possible. They will even call GD on my behalf so I dont even have to deal with that.

 

[concreteman]

Well it looks like someone has finally taken time the time to get to the bottom of my furnace problem . Four seasons RV acres in Abilene KS ! This week they removed the furnace from the rig and found that someone had put a piece of clear plastic on top of the furnace. The tech said it looked like the carpet guard stuff that contractors use to protect carpet on job sites. The only thing anyone can figure is that maybe they put on during the build to keep debris out of the furnace. And it didnt get removed. They also discovered that the furnace wasnt even fastened to the floor , which was the culprit of the vibration. they corrected these items and called and said they are 99 percent sure that this will fix the problem. I will pick up saturday and test it the next weekend.

 

[Happy Kansan]

Great news! Glad they were able to help you. Our furnace that they repaired is working like a charm now.

 

[JustinThyme]

Glad to hear you found someone to take care of you!

 

[CentralMichBo]

Good to hear you are ready for a test. Our servicing dealership, General RV White Lake, was excellent on the service we had. Our KantLeak system went haywire last year. I called them on a Monday, they asked if I could have the unit down at their facility the next day. They tested it, got with GD and Anderson Brass (the manufacturer) and had a new part and had it installed by that Thursday! They even offered to drive it home for me because we are an hour and a half away (which I declined). The techs, the service manager and the service writer were all great and bent over backwards.

 

[Virginia Camper]

Sorry to hear about these issues. For anyone who lives anywhere near Richmond, VA, Southern RV is AWESOME! Nice people, family run business. Can't go wrong with them. We just bought from them a few weeks ago.

 

[2hams]

We are also pleased with Southern RV, and plan to go to one or two of the monthly campouts with the owners.

 

[gestern1]

My opinions on my dealer are still on the table. When I purchased my unit I was told it would be delivered by April 14. Now I am being told it will not be released from the factory until the 21st of April. Add the transport time and the PID time and I don't know when I will be able to prepare mine for a three month trip starting in June. I get the feeling I was told the 14th just to complete the sell then since I am locked in with my deposit. I am at the mercy of the factory/dealer. Waiting to see how things develop.